On Thursday, the Carolina Panthers bumped this year’s No. 1 pick up to the No. 1 spot on the depth chart—a move last year’s No. 1 pick is quite familiar with.
Left tackle Ikem Ekwonu spoke with reporters following today’s session of organized team activities, one where quarterback Bryce Young began on first-team reps. The 2022 sixth overall selection was asked about the growth of both the offense and Young.
“Yeah, Bryce has been great,” he said. “He’s been developing really fast. Taking command of that huddle early. Just definitely excited to see his development more and more. Excited to see him grow. Yeah, he picked it up really fast. Definitely very impressive.”
Ekwonu went through a similar jump last offseason. Despite being the obvious solution to an obvious area of need, the Panthers tasked the local product with “earning” his starting spot on the blindside.
And now that both seemingly have, Ekwonu sounded ready to keep it moving with his new client.
“Same guy every day,” he added of Young’s demeanor. “Calm, collected. He never really gets rattled out there no matter what’s going on with practice. The moment’s never too big, I can see that.”
